THEFTS BY CASHIER

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21240, 21 July 1932, Page 12

THEFTS BY CASHIER

SUM OF £523 TAKEN LOSSES IN POKER SCHOOL FREE CONFESSION MADE [BY TETjEGRAI'H—OWN COMUSSPONDENT] WELLINGTON, Wednesday Attributing his downfall to gambling at poker, Harold Vivian Johns, cashier, pleaded guilty beforo .Mr. E. Page, S.M., at tho Magistrate's Court to-day to a charge of theft as a servant of £523 14s lid from Ross and Qlondining, Limited, and was committed to tho Supreme Court for sentence.

Goorgo William Barker, accountant for Ross and Gloudining, said that tho accused had been employed by his firm for 12 years, and for tlio past six years had been cashier. In Juno of this year accused visited tho manager's olfico and volunteered tho ; information thqt ho was over £SOO short with his cash. 110 said that ho had converted money over a period covering last year, and had lost it in a poker school. The defalcations startod in very small amounts and gradually increased. Tho witness said that it was the practice to chock tho accused's receipts at .tho end of overy month, and as long as a balance was arrived at it was not detected that anything was wrong. Accused's practice, said the witness, was to carry over the recording of receipts from month to month. Tho shortages represented cash, as the records showed that every cheque had been paid in. Detective W. R. Murray said that in a statement confessing his defalcations Johns said he was a native of Australia, 34 years of age, and was married. His salary as cashier had been about £6 a week, but as tho result of wage cuts had been reduced to about £5 ss.

"About July, 1931," stated accused, "I began using small amounts of the firm's money to meet gambling debts which I had incurred. I had got into the habit of visiting a certain club and playing poker for inouey, and gradually I found myself getting into difficulties. As a result I sank deeper and deeper into financial trouble through gambling in this way, and tho amounts I took from tho firm's money began to increase into a substantial sum. I foolishly continued gambling in the hope that I would bo able to retrieve tho position, but it got worse." The accusod corroborated tho accountant's evidenco regarding the method by which ho had concealed his defalcations.